Yanks notes: 'Idiot' comment brushed aside

The Record

The idiot box

In the wake of Mike Napoli’s "What an idiot!" comment to his Red Sox teammates after clubbing a Masahiro Tanaka fastball (not the splitter everyone anticipated) for Saturday’s tie-breaking homer, the only issue seemed to be ability of FOX to eavesdrop on talk meant expressly for teammates.

"Unfortunately everything is seen now in the world that we live in," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of Napoli’s exuberant dugout comments being picked up by following the pivotal moment in Boston’s 2-1 victory. "I’ve never had the sense that [Napoli] was a bad guy. I’ve always seen him as a guy who plays hard and loves to play the game."

Late Saturday night, Napoli said, "I was just expecting he was going to try to bury another splitter in the dirt," and meant no disrespect. Tanaka wasn’t asked about the comments after Saturday’s game. And just as Girardi dismissed Napoli’s comment as a "heat-of-the-moment" thing, Boston skipper John Farrell said Napoli and the Sox have "the utmost respect" for Tanaka.

"So, if his comment was based on an emotion in that moment [it] wasn’t directed to be derogatory towards [Tanaka] – it was a reaction," Farrell said. "To me, the microphone is part of the package FOX buys from MLB, so it’s part of what we live with."

Girardi suggested he would speak to Tanaka about the pitch selection that led to Napoli’s homer; Tanaka shook off catcher Brian McCann’s original call for a splitter and his following signal for a slider.

On the mend

CC Sabathia (right knee inflammation) came through fine after Saturday’s initial minor league rehab start. He’s set to throw a bullpen today at the Stadium and could make his next rehab stint for Class AA Trenton.

Michael Pineda (strained upper back) played catch for a second straight day with no issues.

Yanks notes: 'Idiot' comment brushed aside

The Record

The idiot box

In the wake of Mike Napoli’s "What an idiot!" comment to his Red Sox teammates after clubbing a Masahiro Tanaka fastball (not the splitter everyone anticipated) for Saturday’s tie-breaking homer, the only issue seemed to be ability of FOX to eavesdrop on talk meant expressly for teammates.

"Unfortunately everything is seen now in the world that we live in," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of Napoli’s exuberant dugout comments being picked up by following the pivotal moment in Boston’s 2-1 victory. "I’ve never had the sense that [Napoli] was a bad guy. I’ve always seen him as a guy who plays hard and loves to play the game."

Late Saturday night, Napoli said, "I was just expecting he was going to try to bury another splitter in the dirt," and meant no disrespect. Tanaka wasn’t asked about the comments after Saturday’s game. And just as Girardi dismissed Napoli’s comment as a "heat-of-the-moment" thing, Boston skipper John Farrell said Napoli and the Sox have "the utmost respect" for Tanaka.

"So, if his comment was based on an emotion in that moment [it] wasn’t directed to be derogatory towards [Tanaka] – it was a reaction," Farrell said. "To me, the microphone is part of the package FOX buys from MLB, so it’s part of what we live with."

Girardi suggested he would speak to Tanaka about the pitch selection that led to Napoli’s homer; Tanaka shook off catcher Brian McCann’s original call for a splitter and his following signal for a slider.

On the mend

CC Sabathia (right knee inflammation) came through fine after Saturday’s initial minor league rehab start. He’s set to throw a bullpen today at the Stadium and could make his next rehab stint for Class AA Trenton.

Michael Pineda (strained upper back) played catch for a second straight day with no issues.